Blitz
by TheGirlWithTheDinosaurTattoo
Summary: A good, old-fashioned monster-of-the-week, the Winchesters take on an entire coven of vampires without breaking a sweat. Or do they? Set on the Winchester Ranch timeline about a year after "Ashes," this story is rated T for violence. I do not own any of the Supernatural 'verse, but by Chuck, I do love to dabble.
1. Chapter 1

::Hello everyone! I'm back! I just began my summer vacation from teaching and have finally had some time to sit down and edit some stories. This is a fun one, set on the Winchester Ranch timeline a bit after _Ashes_, it's a fun monster-of-the-week.

_Blitz_ is inspired by the song "Ballroom Blitz" by The Sweet, so much in fact, that the first dialogue of the story is the first few lines of the song itself, with our favorite hunters' names exchanged for the band members' names. I had a lot of fun with this one and I hope you like it as much as I do. Enjoy!::

lots of love and internetty hugs,

::the girl with the dinosaur tattoo::

…

…

Chapter 1

Present Day

Serra

"You ready, Dean?"

"Uh-huh."

"Sammy?"

"Yeah."

"Grace?"

"Okay."

"All right fellas," I breathed into our joined, open mic. "Let's go."

The room we stared into from outside the main window was full to the hilt with vampires of all sizes, shapes, and degrees of ferociousness. Slamming the door to the run-down trucker bar wide open, I took a deep breath and grinned as I made eye contact with the first blood sucker. "Hi," I greeted, pursing my lips. "How's it going?"

The open space of the bar collectively turned towards the now-open door. Chaos erupted all around.

Damn it felt good to be back.

"Maybe don't look like you're having _that_ much fun," Grace muttered, loud in my brain and in my ear, obviously saying the critique out loud. "You're still _killing_ things."

I laughed inwardly, still grinning stupidly as I approached another three vamps, my guns out and loaded with angel rounds from my Weapons' Stone. Turns out, they're good for killing just about everything. "Well," I grunted, kicking a vampire in the chest and double tapping him in the forehead, Sammy right behind me to take off his head. "I _am_ having fun."

"Sometimes I really worry about you," my sister grumbled in my ear, though she wasn't using the mic.

Rolling my eyes, I leaped high up in the air, back handing another blood sucker to the floor. I whipped around, shooting her twice in the chest to keep her on the ground, and one more in the head. "I would really be worried about your head count. I'm up to four already and haven't even broken a sweat."

"Will you two shut up for like, two minutes?" Dean's voice came over the mic, sounding strained. I turned to see if my brother-in-law needed help, but smiled as he turned, blood spattered across his chest, obviously just having taken off a vampire's head. "The constant chatter on a hunt is something I'll never get used to with you guys."

I grinned back, "Just because you and Sammy are dull doesn't mean we can't add a little color."

Dean looked offended as another vampire attacked. "Who are you calling dull?" he asked. Bending his knees, Dean leaned into the attack, braced, and tossed the fang up and over his shoulders and turned gracefully with his machete, taking off her head in one streamline motion.

"Nice," I commented.

"Five," Dean smiled, raising his eyebrows.

I could hear Sam huff into the tiny speaker in my ear. "Oh, Jesus. Here we go."

…

Three Weeks Ago

Serra

"Auntie Luck!" Lib greeted as I crossed the field between our houses. "Look!"

"What's up, Meatloaf?" I asked, tilting my head at my niece and climbed the steps to the back porch of my sister's house.

Liberty was practically jumping up and down. "We get a field trip!" she held out a blue piece of paper and wiggled it in my face. "A field trip to the dairy farm and pumpkin patch!"

"No way," I grinned up at Grace, who held the door open for me. "A dairy farm in _Kansas?_ What will they think of next?"

Laughing, Lib pretended to get my joke. "I know!" she giggled. "I'm so excited!"

Almost immediately getting distracted by something else, Lib turned and ran back to the living room where her siblings were building a tower with red plastic cups. She crouched next to them and joined in the construction.

"A field trip?" I asked, lowering my voice as I moved closer to Grace as she stirred a pot of Spanish rice. "Field trips are something the Winchester children are a part of?"

Grace pursed her lips and tilted her head as she stirred. "We can't just keep them in a bubble for the rest of their childhood," she whispered, glancing up into the living room. "Everett seems fine, now that he's back at school, and everyone else seems calm…why not?"

"Why not?" I asked, leaning over the bar to get closer to my sister. "Maybe because of their job descriptions and the fact that Everett was missing for almost eight months? Or that Lee was missing for almost four? I feel like we just got them home and safe, and now we're talking about field trips?"

"Luck, we didn't _just _get them back. That was over a year ago."

"We _just _got everything back to normal."

Clicking her tongue, Grace shook her head. "We can't keep the kids under lock and key. Lib wants to go to the dairy farm and pumpkin patch, so dammit, my kid is gonna see the cows and the pumpkins."

Narrowing my eyes, I pressed harder, "What does Dean have to say about this out-in-the-world-adventure?"

Grace didn't look up, but instead kept stirring.

"Grace. What did Dean say?"

"She just brought it home today," she finally answered. "Dean hasn't seen it yet."

I tilted my head triumphantly. "And you think your husband is going to be okay with his daughter leaving the school, where we so painstakingly drew countless wards and sigils across the property over the holidays last year, to a dairy farm with a bunch of parents we don't know?"

"Serra," Grace sighed.

"Serra what?" I argued. "He's not gonna go for it."

"Are you staying for dinner?" Grace changed the subject without warning, catching me slightly off guard.

I glanced at the meal she had laid out and shrugged. "Yeah," I offered. "Sammy won't be home until after ten. This semester is kicking both of our asses."

"Can't he have a grad student take the night class?" Grace asked, taking the rice off the heat and covering it as she turned to chop more tomatoes. "It does seem like this was a particularly low blow for the History Department to hand him."

"Yeah, well," I sighed, "when you take a sabbatical for longer than you promised, you tend to end up with the short end of the stick." I reached over Grace's knife to steal a handful of shredded cheese. Then, realizing what she had done, I shook my head. "I hate it when you do that."

"Do what?" she answered without looking up.

"Throw me off the conversation, trying to get me to forget about what we were talking about."

Grace clicked her tongue but continued chopping tomatoes. "It used to be a lot easier," she muttered, shaking her head. "You're getting more focused in your old age."

"Who are you calling old?" I asked, standing from the bar and walking to the fridge to get a beer. "Wanna beer?" I asked, still munching on cheese.

"Nah," she answered. "I've been working on that Chardonnay that's in there."

"I've been working on a Chardonnay," I mocked, using a high-pitched voice to mimic Grace. "Too good for us now, huh?"

"Oh, shut up," Grace answered, dumping the tomatoes into a large bowl. "Get me some Chard."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Present Day

Dean

Vamps. It felt so good to be back. I wouldn't go so far to say that I was enjoying myself but...yeah I was.

"Grace!" Serra yelled. I didn't hear panic in her voice, but I whipped around nonetheless. Serra was mid-motion, tossing Grace a triangular blade reminiscent of an angel blade, but it was wider and twice as long. Grace caught it deftly, smiling at her sister. "Now," Serra continued. "No abilities; just your wit."

"What?" Grace asked, narrowing her eyes as she tossed a vampire off. "Where's the fun in that? I'm just getting good."

"Kills don't count if you use your powers," Serra insisted.

Grace rolled her eyes and glanced back at me, "Aw, come on," she continued. "I'm out of practice and to hand. Why the hell did I even come, then?"

"Four," Serra grunted, decapitating another vampire. "Hurry up, you big baby. This nest ain't gonna kill itself."

I smiled as I bent to toss the vampire that approached me over my shoulder and decapitate it with my machete. I stood, blood spattered across my chest and arm. "Five," I smiled as both Sam and Serra glanced up at me.

"Oh, Jesus," Sam muttered with a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "Here we go."

As I moved through the crowd of vampires and family members, I tried counting what was left of the nest. This was easily the biggest we had ever encountered, and I vaguely wondered how we hadn't noticed it before. There were at least forty vampires in this bar, and probably a few more out back. I shook my head, chuckling to myself. Ten years ago, I'd a shit myself, trying to go after a nest forty large. These days, well. This was a game.

"Six," Serra shouted from the other room. "Oh, wait," she grunted and shoved a vampire to the ground, separating his head from his body. "Seven."

Grace stood and watched, shaking her head occasionally as she watched her sister dance around, slicing and shooting as she moved through the crowd. I caught her eye and winked. "You'd better catch up," I muttered, knowing she'd hear me, even without the earpiece.

"I'll let her have her fun," my wife replied. "Let her think she's gonna beat me."

Serra barely had enough time to turn and throw a shady look towards her sister before another three female vampires attacked. Grace hardly looked worried though, still watching from her end of the room. Ever since getting her grace back from Delilah, she had an unnatural stillness to her movements, reminding me too much of Cas.

Sammy watched from the other side of the room as well, facing Grace. Worry creased his brow as he stared at his wife, obviously still doubting her abilities as a hunter. I had no idea why. She'd be able to take this whole nest on by herself, I was sure of it, if she needed to. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Grace nod, agreeing with my thoughts. Serra lifted her guns in tandem once again, firing four rounds from each of the silver-on-black, Colt forty-fives, dropping two vampires on each side.

Grinning and out of breath, Serra turned to Grace, "Eleven!" she declared, as a vampire leaped across the room, fangs descended, taking her to the floor as he did everything he could to bite her. Her guns skidded across the floor as she hit the ground, though hardly leaving her unarmed.

Me and Sammy both jumped into action, heading towards the fight on the floor, but before we even had a chance to take three steps, there was a bright flash of blue light and a _woosh_ of air as a pile of ashes collapsed onto Serra's chest.

"I told you," she grunted, getting to her feet and dusting herself off, "no abilities."

Grace sighed, "You're welcome."

…

Three Weeks Ago

Grace

Dean was late, but it happened infrequently enough that it didn't bother me. Usually when it did, he had gotten caught up talking to a client about the cars or the shop and I couldn't help but listen in on the conversations because Dean was so genuinely happy. He loved his job and our shop, and it was the first time in his life that he got to be good at something besides killing monsters.

Everyone in town loved my husband; the men loved him for his buddy/buddy attitude and knowledge about anything with an engine. The women loved him for his face and his body. I had to admit, I couldn't blame them.

I could still hear Dean talking lightheartedly to Stu as he closed up; rolling the garage doors down and wiping the grease off his hands. His hair was a mess and he had an oil stain on the shoulder of his dark blue Winchester Family Auto shirt. Smiling, I closed my eyes and pushed my grace towards my husband, imagining myself wrapped around him late into the night. I thought about running my fingers through his hair and kissing the tender spot behind his ear.

Laughing to myself, I listened to the conversation that followed.

"What's the matter with you?" Stu asked as he watched Dean freeze in the middle of the garage.

Dean shook his head once, trying to focus on his real-life surroundings, not my grace, as it wound its way around his shoulders. "What?" he asked, his eyes squeezed shut. "Uh, nothing," Dean finally took a deep breath, focusing on the greasy rag he held. "Grace is…pulling me home."

Stu laughed. "Looks like Grace is doing more than that," he commented. "You are beet red. Keep it PG, huh?"

"Tell that to my half-angel wife," Dean muttered, rolling his head from side to side, still trying to shake my grace from his body. "I'm coming, I'm coming," he muttered, mostly to himself. I grinned again, still standing in my kitchen.

Turning my attention back to what was left of dinner, I stacked the kids' plates and rinsed everything in the sink. Serra walked in from the garage with Johnny, her loyal black lab, trailing behind her, wagging his tail obnoxiously. "Hey, puppers," I greeted, letting him lick the palm of my hand. "Can I give him the crusts of the kids' sandwiches?"

Taking a drink of her beer, Serra nodded. "Yeah," she commented. "Dean's not home yet?"

"Are you just waiting for him so you can be here to see what he does about the field trip?"

Narrowing her eyes, Serra glared at me, trying to think of another reason she might still be at my house. "No," she cautioned. "I'm spending time with my nephew and nieces."

I laughed. "You're a little ridiculous."

She shrugged, leaning against the counter near the sink as I washed the last of the pots. "I'm bored," she sighed, tossing her beer bottle into the recycle can next to the counter.

"Jeeze, Serra, you're as bad as the kids," I rolled my eyes and shook my head as I considered my sister. "Just because we've been home for more than three weeks in a row and things are back to normal for once," I clicked my tongue in disgust. "Be thankful you're bored."

Serra turned and crossed her arms, staring at me. "You can't tell me you're always happy living the apple pie life," she grumbled. "This isn't us. Even when we're happy and safe, we should still be out, saving people. You have more talent in your fucking pinky finger than all of us put together and you're telling me you're happy doing dishes?"

Lifting my eyebrows, I nodded once, "Yeah," I replied harshly. "Yeah, I am. My kids are happy, home, and safe. My house is still standing. My husband has a job and we're able to put a roof over everyone's head." I dried my hands and tossed the towel on the counter. "No one is hunting us for fifteen minutes and we finally have a chance to take a breath. I _guarantee_ that life will not always be this easy. We're gonna have to deal with our Gatekeepers in the next few years. We're probably gonna have to deal with others trying to kill them." I breathed through my nose and tilted my head at my sister. "So yeah, I'm going to happily scrub this pan, in my kitchen, while my kids play on the floor, waiting for their father to come home from work."

"You're such a buzzkill," my baby sister replied.

Rolling my eyes, I turned back towards the sink and rinsed the pan I held.

Serra leaned towards me and smiled mischievously. "I hear there might be a coven of vamps in Iowa," she whispered.

"No," I answered without looking up.

"Grace, think about it. We wouldn't even break a sweat."

I repeated myself, "No."

"Grace, come on."

I turned towards my sister again and took a deep breath, lowering my voice. "I am not your mother. If you want to go off and hunt vampires, then so be it," I shook my head as I continued, "but let me just make one thing clear. I am not coming to rescue you, and I am not going to be the one to explain to your kids why you're gone. You tell them."

Serra rolled her eyes, "You used to be fun."

Stacking the pan on top of the pile of clean dishes, I replied, "Yep, before my husband was a demon and my kids were kidnapped. Before I was tortured in Hell and then killed by an angel, I was a blast."

"Alright," Serra waved her hand dismissively in the air as she turned towards the living room, "When you pull the stick outta your ass, you lemme know." She bent to pick Charlotte off the floor and gestured to Levi as she turned towards the back door.

"Jody and Billy are coming for dinner tomorrow night, don't forget," I added as she wandered out the door with her entourage of kids and dog behind her.

"Ooh!" she answered, "I want lasagna."

"Alright," I replied, nodding.

To the outside person, our sudden change in conversation and attitude towards each other would be hard to follow, but to my sister and me, it was just another evening. It's how we functioned, and it wouldn't be surprising if countless other sisters out there in the world did the same exact thing.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Present Day

Sam

I helped Serra off the floor and took a deep breath, finally feeling the adrenaline hit my bloodstream and as much as I hated to admit it, I started to enjoy myself. I was hunting with my family and compared to the terror we had felt the last few years, this was a walk in the park. I had my doubts occasionally about taking my wife hunting, but I had no idea why. I think it was mostly nerves, knowing how much I loved her and how worried I was about potentially losing her, but overall, the more I watched her in action, the less afraid I was. I reassured myself more and more each time I saw her on a hunt. Serra could take on this whole nest and come out on top, I really had no doubt.

"Finally," I heard Grace whisper.

I turned and gave her a look, and she laughed, effortlessly decapitating a vampire as it ran towards her. "Finally what?" I asked, moving closer to her, throwing off a vampire as it ran at us.

"Finally," she muttered, "seeing her for who she is."

From across the room, Serra was locked in combat with another two fangs, so she didn't have the time to look up. "See her for who she is?" I repeated. "She's Serra. She's a warrior."

Grace nodded, smiling approvingly at her little sister. "She's my Warrior," Grace corrected. "A Warrior of Fucking Heaven."

"Fourteen!" Serra yelled from across the room. Giggling, Grace took a deep breath as she nodded encouragingly at her sister, giving her the 'thumbs up' sign.

Dean turned to watch Grace and me, throwing us a questioning look as he wiped the blood out off his nose. I shook my head, telling him that things were fine, and his wife smiled at him, giving him the thumbs up as well. He grinned and went back to the vampires.

I glanced side-long at my sister-in-law, the Nephilim, and took a deep breath, wanting to ask the question that had been winding around my mind for the last few weeks. I knew that Grace already knew what I wanted to ask, but she was respectful of my thoughts and feelings about having my mind read and let me consider it again without pressing me. From the outside, Grace didn't look that different. She carried herself taller, moved with precision, and now had the same inhuman stillness that the angels had when standing. I was dying to know if she felt different; if she perceived the world differently now that her abilities were fully matured. I also had questions for Dean; but I would never be comfortable asking.

Grace turned slightly towards me and immediately, I knew my secrets were now her secrets as well. It never seemed quite fair that she had such easy access to our thoughts.

"I share quite a bit, too," she whispered next to me. "I don't hold my thoughts in after I read yours."

In the chaos of the battle with the vampires, I turned towards her and cocked my head, seeing that her earpiece was hanging low, obviously trying to keep my secrets to the two of us. I mimicked her, taking my mic out of my ear and allowing it to hang to my shoulder.

"This hardly seems like the place to talk this out," I muttered, turning to watch Dean and Serra once again.

Grace didn't move, "They're distracted. Do you want me to answer without you asking?" she asked, smiling lightly. "Are the questions too embarrassing for a college professor?"

"They're too embarrassing for a brother-in-law," I replied, staring at my feet. "It's awkward, we share too much as it is. You don't have to answer."

Grace turned towards the nearest vampire, reaching out with her palm and touching him long enough for him to explode into a dust cloud of ashes. Without batting an eye, she turned back to me and grinned, "Yes," she commented, glancing at Dean and Serra as they took turns with an overly-large male vampire. "I feel different. Everything is clearer, brighter. More detailed. I hear everyone, all the time."

I nodded, happy with my answers, but didn't mention anything further.

"It feels different, being with him, too," she whispered, holding a grin.

Smiling back at Grace, I pressed my tongue to the back of my teeth, waiting for her to continue.

Grace nodded towards Dean, who stood up to his full height after taking down the huge vampire, "A Nephilim with Michael's Vessel?" the corners of her lips tugged into a wry grin. "We've broken a few windows."

"I don't need details," I laughed, shaking my head.

She chuckled too, but then turned serious once again, "No, I won't get pregnant again, if that's what you're asking. We've had that under control for awhile now."

Waiting, I flicked my eyes to my sister. "How do you know?"

"Because we have all four Gatekeepers," she answered simply.

"Seventeen!" Serra shouted from the corner of the bar.

I turned and smiled at her, realizing that the battle was over. There were no more vampires left to kill. Dean was breathing heavily next to her, smiling just as broadly. "Fifteen," he replied half-heartedly, realizing that Serra had beaten him.

Serra turned to stare at her sister, "How many?" she demanded.

"Four."

"Jesus, did you even try?" Serra chastised. "Four? That's embarrassing!" She turned to me, gesturing with her knife. "How many?"

I shrugged. "Two," I replied.

"Two!"

Grace laughed and turned to Dean, wiping blood off his forehead. "Sammy was letting you have the fun, now that you've got this whole 'Vessel Blood' thing down. You should be thanking us."

"At least Dean didn't let me down," Serra continued. They high-fived to drive the point home.

"Well," Grace shrugged, turning towards her sister, "I'm glad you got your playtime. Can we go home now?"

…

Three Weeks Ago

Dean

The wind kicked up by the time I drove home; bringing back flashes of the night Delilah almost killed Serra with a tornado and took my son and nephew. I shook my mind free of the suffocating memory, trying to concentrate on the idea that things were better now; that we had our kids back, everyone was alive, and I had a chance to be bored. It was refreshing. I knew it couldn't last.

I turned up the gravel drive, turning off the engine of my car and sat in the silence for a few minutes, just staring through the windshield up at my house. The lights were on through closed curtains, giving the whole scene a warm glow in the just-after-sunset dusky light.

The farmhouse had been built in 1901, suited for a family of at least six, just like ours. Each of the kids had their own bedroom, which was more than I could have ever asked for, and the girls would never have to fight over using the bathroom. There were two bathrooms upstairs, one and a half on the ground floor, and one more in the basement. To say that we were lucky was an understatement. It was hard to imagine that just over ten years ago, Sam and I were basically homeless nomads, barely surviving the day to day. Now, well…I was staring at the best thing that had ever happened to me.

She wandered down the steps of the wraparound porch, touching the handrail lightly with her long, blonde hair swaying in the breeze as it whipped around the house. Grace moved with an elegance that I would never take for granted. She smiled, seeing me meet her eyes through the windshield, and reached for the door handle, and let herself in. Sitting gently on the seat beside me, Grace took a soft breath.

"Thinking about running?" she asked, a hint of a smile in her voice.

I turned to glance side-long at my wife. "Wouldn't dream of it," I replied, touching her hand. "I've got it too good here."

"Damn right," she giggled.

"Miss me, did you?" I asked, remembering her touch while standing in the middle of my shop, talking to Stu. "Made it a little hard to focus on closing up."

Grace licked her lips, suppressing a grin. "Made it a little hard?" she repeated.

"And they say I'm immature," I laughed, turning to get out of the Impala.

Grace followed suit, meeting me at the hood and taking my hand. "Lib's bursting to tell you about her field trip to the farm," she changed subjects.

"Field trip?" I asked; my attention diverted to my eldest daughter. "We're sending our lead Gatekeeper on a field trip?"

"Serra wanted to be here to see you freak out," Grace commented, leading me up the steps. "It's not like we can't go with her. One of us can be a chaperone."

I made a face, shaking my head. Being surrounded with about sixty second graders was not my idea of a party. "I'm not going on a trip with all those kids," I curled my lip in disgust. "On a school bus. With sticky, loud, demanding creatures that I didn't make."

Grace laughed, walking through the screen door as I held it open for her. "You don't have to," she replied. "There are quite a few of us in this family. You're just one of the possibilities."

"Yeah, well," I muttered, still shaking my head. "Not really."

"Daddy!" Lib cried, running to me with her arms spread wide.

I grinned at my little girl. "Hey, Meatloaf," I chuckled. My kids being happy to see me would never get old. "How's it going? How was school?"

Liberty's green eyes were bright, "It's so fun! We've been talking about how a farm works and we get to go to one! We get to go to a real life farm with a barn and pigs and everything!"

"So," I glanced up at Grace with my eyebrows raised, "Your class is coming here?"

Looking confused, Lib turned to glance at my wife. Grace laughed. "Daddy is teasing you," she soothed. "We have a barn. Auntie Luck has a pig."

My daughter giggled and shook her head. "No, Daddy, a _real_ farm. There are cows!"

"Thanks for clearing that up," I replied. "So, when is this field trip?"

…

Dean

Three Weeks ago

"Have we decided who's going with the eldest Gatekeeper on her field trip?" I asked as I helped Grace put the rest of the dishes away. "We know it's not me, and she's not going if one of us isn't there."

"I could go," Grace shrugged, "but then someone has to pick up the little kids at 2:30."

"I can probably pick them up from school and just take them back to the shop. Does Sam have class that day?" I asked, "Or does it have to be one of us?"

Grace tilted her head. "I don't think it matters as long as we have our volunteer stuff filled out," she commented. "I think it would be hilarious if we sent Serra."

"Would she even survive the trip?" I laughed, turning to Everett who had suddenly appeared at the edge of the counter. "What's up kiddo?" I asked.

"I want to go on a field trip," Everett said simply.

Grace smiled at our son and took a deep breath, bending down to his level. "Ev, it's Lib's turn to go on her trip. When you get to second grade, you'll be able to go with your class, too."

Everett narrowed his eyes but seemed to be satisfied with her answer. He hugged her and meandered away, showing a hint of a smile when he sat down again next to Glory as he joined in her Lego-building session.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Two Weeks Ago

Serra

_I can't believe you talked me into this,_ I thought towards my sister, knowing very well that she would be able to hear me from her place in her giant farmhouse with her perfect, not-still-destroyed kitchen.

Grace's voice answered me as I stood in front of the school bus, watching the dozens of kids wander aimlessly to the adults in charge. _I didn't talk anyone into anything. You would have just had to pick up the littles from daycare. You picked this option. This is _your_ fault._

Rolling my eyes, I took a deep breath and let it out as slowly as I could. I was so uptight because after yet another phone call to the insurance company, my house was still in shambles, waiting for _another_ inspector to come and evaluate what parts of the damage to my house could have been prevented. I already knew the answer, since the damage was caused entirely by the evil bitch of an angel, Delilah, but it wasn't like I could say anything about the supernatural knocking my brick chimney through the roof of my house and into my kitchen. I had to go through the motions and pretend it all was a legit tornado and it was getting harder and harder for me to bite my tongue about the bitch that was at fault.

The bottom line was that I was tired of having bricks just hanging out on my stairs and stacked up in my entry way. I was tired of the giant tarp that covered the hole in my roof. I was tired of having a beat up, falling-apart house.

_We'll get it taken care of,_ came my nosy sister's voice once more. _If nothing else, the boys can make repairs when you get the check from the insurance company. _

_ Your house got fixed up right away! You moved into a perfect house._

I could almost see Grace roll her eyes. _Yeah, and Dean and Sam worked their ass off on it, back before we had six kids between us, before Sammy was working full time. Back when I had a job and we had extra money just laying around._

Once again, I rolled my eyes at my sister's logic. _I'm done talking to you,_ I thought, turning my attention towards Lib and all her little friends walking towards me. "Hey, Meatloaf," I greeted, using Dean's old nickname for my niece.

She smiled happily and leaned to one of her friends, "She's my auntie. She has a _gun._"

Watching the little girls turn and drop their mouths in surprise, I fake-smiled, showing none of my teeth. "Actually, I have _lots_ of guns," I whispered. "Just not with me."

Libby narrowed her eyes at me, shaking her head in disapproval, just like her mother would. I took a deep breath and tried to remind myself that she was seven, not thirty-six, like my sister. _You are on this trip with me,_ I grumbled in my head. _I swear, Lib is just like you._

_I thought you were done talking to me?_ Grace's reply came, predictably snarky, and I rolled my eyes as the teacher approached.

"Hello, Mrs. Winchester!" she greeted. "I'm not Liberty's teacher, but I'm here to give you your pass and your badge, along with a group of youngins to care for."

"Awesome," I replied, trying my best to stay upbeat.

…

Two weeks ago

Serra

The bus ride was Hell on Earth. I had been to _literal_ Hell and I would have taken it again over riding in a school bus with sixty loud, sweaty, excitable kids any day. I don't know how Grace used to do this _professionally._

_Everyone's got their strengths._

I sighed audibly, though it was much too loud for anyone else to notice. _Don't you have something to do?_

Grace laughed in my head and answered, _I'm actually on my way to the shop. Tony called in and they need someone to answer the phones. _

_Good,_ I replied. _Stay out of my melon._

Grace was silent after that, and I finally had some peace and quiet in my head. Though, I couldn't enjoy it because of all the children. So many children.

The farm wasn't far away. We pulled into the wide-open gravel parking lot after about twenty minutes. The bus parked, we corralled the second graders into two semi-straight lines, and we headed towards the barn where three farmers dressed in overalls and straw hats were there to greet us. It was sickening.

"Hey there, kiddos!" the taller, older farmer greeted jovially. "You're in for a real treat today!"

I glanced over at my niece and I couldn't help but smile at her excitement. She and her friends were pointing to the dairy cows that grazed in the pasture and then began chattering quietly when they saw the horses in the paddock across the way. Liberty was in her element: the outdoors, surrounding by animals.

Taking out my phone, I snapped a photo of Lib as she grinned, staring at the horses. I knew Grace would be able to see anything I saw, but Dean wouldn't until later. I typed out a text and sent the photo to my brother-in-law, knowing it would make him weak in those bowed-ass knees.

I followed along behind the group of kids, watching Liberty and supervising what I needed to. It was going well until we ventured into the milking barn. There were workers hooking the dairy cows up to the machinery and there were farmers explaining everything to the kids, but in the background, a man made eye contact with me and I got a feeling—the same feeling I would get when we were hunting full time. There was a tingle up my back, and it seemed like I had goose bumps in my scalp.

There was _something_ up with that guy.

I watched him out of the corner of my eye as the kids watched the milking presentation. There was a video, and at one point, the farmer sprayed milk into a bucket to demonstrate. The kids were stoked and Lib glanced back at me to make sure I was watching. I tore my eyes away from the man that meandered back and forth from a cow to another man, nodded and gave my niece the thumbs-up, and by the time my eyes flicked back up to the man in question, he had disappeared.

_What the hell?_

I scanned the room over and over, but he was gone.

Automatically, my senses were into overdrive and I moved closer to Liberty protectively. No one else was making a big deal about anything, there were no kids missing, and everyone seemed to be getting along well…but there was _something_ wrong, I knew it.

_Grace,_ I thought, searching mentally for my sister.

She ignored me.

_Oh, now that I need you, you're nowhere to be found?_ I thought, still scanning the barn. The teachers were leading the kids out into the horse paddock now, and I trailed behind, keeping Liberty in my constant peripheral. _Grace, come on._

_I am busy,_ she thought back, rather short with me.

_There's someone here that gives me the heebie-jeebies. _

_ I. Am. Busy._ Grace replied, repeating herself in a rather harsh tone.

I ignored her irritation with me and continued as if she hadn't been mad, _He's big, Grace. He has short, black hair, a dark complexion, and he's really tall. He's built like a body builder. He's—_

Grace cut me off, _Serra, shut up! I am with a customer. I can't deal with you or your paranoia right now. Not everything is a monster._

_ I've just got a feeling—_

_ Stop._ Grace continued, _I will talk to you tonight. Go away._

I clicked my tongue and rolled my eyes, not getting my way with my big sister. Didn't she realize that I only wanted to talk to her when _I_ needed her?

Begrudgingly, I followed the second graders around to the rest of their activities without incident and eventually, boarded the bus to go home without seeing the man again.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Two Weeks Ago

Serra

At dinner that night, Liberty regaled the table about their wonderful field trip, and I smiled in all the right places and agreed with her when she wanted me to. She told Grace and Dean about the cows, the milkers, the horses, and the oxen. Levi and Sammy listened with interest and not once, did Grace turn towards me to ask about the mystery man. It's like she was avoiding it on purpose.

"And Auntie Lucky even got to feed one of the oxen!" Lib exclaimed suddenly, pointing at me with a carrot. "She didn't even volunteer and Farmer Clyde picked her!" She looked slightly crestfallen when she continued, "I didn't get picked to do anything like that."

I finished chewing and shook my head, "What are you talking about?" I challenged. "You got to pet the horse!"

Lib tilted her head, remembering. "Oh yeah!" She turned to Dean and grinned, "His name is Brady and he's so handsome!"

"I can't tell you how happy it makes me that the first time she says something like that is about a horse," Dean muttered to Grace and grinned behind his forkful of food.

Finally, dinner was over, and the kids were playing on the floor, so I found my opportunity. "Well?" I asked, walking up to Grace as she put lids on the containers of leftovers from dinner.

"Well, what?" she asked, not looking up.

I caught Dean and Sammy's attention as they talked quietly from next to the dining room table. "The guy! The big guy from the farm!"

Grace rolled her eyes, "What about him, Serra?" she asked. "You can't get all obsessed with something on a whim."

"It's _not_ a whim!" I explained, gesturing wildly. "I got a bad feeling as soon as I made eye contact with this guy! He gave me the willies!"

"And how exactly do the willies feel?" Sam asked, leaning towards me, wearing a smug grin.

"Fuck off," I replied, turning back to my sister. "Take me seriously. You know I'm a creature based _entirely_ on instinct. My instinct tells me that this guy is not a guy!"

"What is he then?" Grace asked, folding her arms over her chest and staring at me in that 'know-it-all-big-sister' kind of way.

I rolled my eyes back at her and leaned on the counter, "I don't know! That's what you're for! The Nephilim! Read his mind or something!"

"Serra," Grace sighed, "you know it doesn't work like that. If I was there, I would have been able to see what you're seeing, but I don't know who you're talking about or what the guy even looks like. I can't find what I don't know to look for."

"Let's go back to the farm, then," I practically shouted. "You'll see him, and you'll get the same feeling as me!"

Grace and Sammy laughed and turned back to their drinks and the dishes. I jutted my jaw out, pressing my lips together, finally glancing at Dean. He pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes, thinking.

There was always a glimmer of hope when it came to hunting with my brother-in-law. I lost the fight against the tug of a smile at the corner of my lip as I stared at him.

Dean met my eye and lifted his eyebrows towards his wife. "When has she ever been wrong?" he asked quietly.

Turning, Grace tilted her head to the side, doubt creasing her brow. "You're buying this?" she asked.

"She's wrong about a lot of things," he began, and my face immediately smoothed, offended that he was turning on me. Dean held up a hand, silencing my argument. "But," he continued, "she's never been wrong about an enemy."

Grace was silent, waiting for more.

"The werewolves," Dean continued, "Ouriel and Sabina." Grace rolled her eyes, but I could tell that Dean was getting somewhere. "Look, I'm just saying that when it matters, Serra tends to be right, whether you want to admit it or not. She's got the instincts."

"Because I'm a Warrior of Fucking Heaven," I added, just to drive the point home.

Dean shot a look at me, reminding me that I never help in arguments. I pressed my lips together.

"There's no harm in checking it out," Dean shrugged. "And if she's wrong, you can tease her about being wrong."

Grace lifted her eyebrows at her husband, "But if she's right, I don't want to hear about it for the next four months."

I was shaking my head, but glimpsed at Dean who closed his eyes, almost looking embarrassed. Immediately, I got the hint and started nodding instead. My sister laughed.

"All right, fine," she sighed. "Do whatever, but don't bring it home with you. I don't wanna have to kill anything and then explain to the kids why we have a body to burn out back."

I wanted to celebrate, but I contained myself. "Deal," I grinned.

…

A Week and a Half Ago

Serra

I let my sister's old Toyota creep down the street on the backside of the farm that I had visited four days ago with my niece and her class. At the last moment as we glided down the road, I remembered to throw the clutch in before it stalled to a stop. The little red hatchback was fun to drive, but man; it was a pain to remember that it was a manual transmission.

"This car has no soul," Dean muttered next to me.

I clicked my tongue as I left it in first gear and pulled the key from the ignition, "Don't let Grace hear you say that," I chastised. "She loves this friggin' car."

It was Dean's turn to make a face, "Seriously?" he asked, shaking his head. "Why?"

"She won it in a poker game," I answered, closing the door quietly behind me. I pulled one of my guns and checked the clip.

"I don't think I know that story," Dean replied from across the top of the roof. "When?"

I shrugged, "I don't know, before Dad was killed. She was pissed at him for something…I don't remember why. She had stayed behind when Dad and me went after a pair of wraiths I think, but it turned out that she was just travelling separately because she couldn't let it go."

Dean made a face and nodded. I knew what he was thinking; his pride about Grace never seemed to stop increasing. He was stupid over her and winning a car in a poker game just added to his admiration. I laughed.

"It's a good story," I added. "Dude was a real prick. She stuck it to him good."

Loading up his pearl-handled, Colt forty-five, Dean chuckled. "It always surprises me when I hear that I don't know everything about her," he explained. "Doesn't seem quite fair that the exact opposite is true."

I shrugged, not really knowing what to say. "Yeah, well," I answered good-naturedly. "The half-and-half thing puts a damper on our secret-keeping abilities, that's for sure." I waved my hands, dismissing talk about my sister. "I'm done talking about the Know-It-All," I grumbled. "Let's go find me a hunt."

Dean and I jogged through the sunflower field that surrounded the farm. They were tall enough to hide even the top of our heads, so I was confident in our quiet approach. At the end of the field, I paused and waited for Dean to catch up, staring towards the giant barn where the farmers milked the dairy cows. I smiled at the memory of watching Lib during the field trip.

"Your daughter was so excited about the cows," I chuckled quietly. "Actin' like she had never seen one before."

"Well," Dean whispered. "Has she?"

I rolled my eyes, "Dude, we live in Kansas. Of course she has."

Chuckling, Dean shook his head and nodded towards the barn. "All right," he sighed. "So, what's your master plan here? Hide in the sunflowers and wait for the monsters to come out?"

"I didn't _make_ you come with me," I snapped. "You could have stayed home, and I could have had some time to myself for a change."

Dean simply lifted an eyebrow.

"We're gonna wait until the sun sets completely and work in the darkness," I finally relented. "I just want to poke around a bit."

"You're gonna get yourself caught," Dean muttered, shaking his head. He stepped out of the sunflower field and dusted himself off, shoving his gun into the back of his jeans and straightening his flannel. "If you wanna play Children of the Corn, you just hang out here for a bit. I'll be back."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," I whispered, trying to grab his flannel as he began his trek across the field towards the barn and horse stalls. "What do you think you're doing?"

Dean ignored me and kept walking, adjusting his posture so he didn't seem intimidating. As he continued, I watch him transform into a civilian, rather than the hunter I knew him to be. I clicked my tongue, knowing one of Dean's favorite things about hunting was the role-playing he got to perform. I rolled my eyes as I followed suit, dusting myself off and trying to catch up to my brother.

"Hey!" Dean called as he approached the barn. He knocked on the side of the wood, trying to get someone's attention. "Anyone home?"

Adjusting my top, I made sure that my guns were safely tucked away in the holster under my jacket. I watched Dean turn towards the horse paddock and stride to the man shoveling hay into the trough.

"Hey!" Dean called again, waving happily. "Hey, man!"

The farmer turned and straightened his posture, obviously confused as to where Dean and I came from.

"Hi," he answered, wary.

Dean grinned at me, playing his part. "See, I knew there would be someone here, honey," he turned back towards the farmer. "I'm Jake and this is my wife Eliza." He smirked down at me, wrapping an arm over my shoulder to demonstrate. "Our car broke down on the other side of the sunflower field over there," Dean turned and pointed awkwardly back the way we came, "and our phones don't have great service out here. I don't even need a tow-truck or anything, just a three-eighths socket wrench. You think I could borrow one?"

The farmer loosened up right away, no longer seeing Dean as a threat. "Oh, yeah, man!" he agreed. "No problem at all. There's a bunch of tools in the tractor barn, come on."

Dean flicked his eyes to mine and held his braggart smile, but just barely. I had never been good at this part of hunting…Grace had always been the one to do the leg work. My job was just to kill the threat.

I fell into step beside my brother-in-law and took a deep breath as I glanced around. I had a part to play.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

A Week and a Half Ago

Dean

Serra would never learn how to relax. That girl was one amazing hunter, but she just had no ability to perform whatsoever. As we followed the young farmer towards the tool barn, I squeezed her hand and lifted my eyebrows, trying to tell her to relax, but she shrugged me off and did what she could to walk like she had nowhere to be. It was taxing.

"Here you go," the kid gestured to the open barn, full of tools and tractors. "Just make sure you bring it back," he continued. "Fred'll have my hide if any of his tools go missin'."

"Don't you worry…" I hesitated, pausing long enough for the kid to get the hint that I wanted his name.

"Oh!" he grinned. "My name's Danny."

I nodded, extending my hand. "Don't you worry, Danny," I soothed. "I'll grab the socket wrench, hoof it back to the car right quick, and we'll drive back over to return it."

The irritation just rolled off Serra. I didn't risk looking at her, worried that I would lose my cool and outright laugh at her facial expression.

"Not to worry, Jake," Danny answered jovially. "It's feedin' time for all the animals, so I'll make my rounds and meet you here so I can lock up after."

"Sounds perfect," I said, finding the socket wrench I wanted and turned on the ball of my foot, grabbing Serra's shoulder, and forcing her out of the barn. "It's probably a faster walk if we go _around_ the flower field," I suggested, knowing we could take the long way around and get a better view of the entire property on our way back to the car. "Can we cut through the property?"

"No problem!" Danny answered, gesturing to the landscape. "Mr. Miller might be up in the house, but he's harmless. There're a few hands out by the dairy cows dealing a big ol' mess, but they won't bug you either."

Serra turned at that and raised her eyebrows questioningly. "Mess?" she asked.

"Oh yeah," Danny provided. "There've been a couple of dead cows over the last few weeks and the hands are tryin' to figger out what's goin' on."

I could feel Serra's gaze move to the side of my face. I refused to make eye contact. "Oh yeah?" I asked pleasantly, rubbing just the right amount of sympathy on my words. "They're sick?"

Danny shrugged. "Don't rightly know. Seems like they're just droppin' dead."

"No kidding," I sighed, eyeing Serra and trying to get her to stay calm. She was practically vibrating, knowing that there was at least something odd going on. "Well," I continued, "that's too bad. Hope they figure out what's going on soon."

"Yeah, me too," Danny agreed, nodding enthusiastically. "Dairy cows is what keeps this place runnin'."

"Are any…people sick?" Serra asked, trying her best to play the part. "Like, it's not 'Mad-Cow' or something I should be worried about, right? We've got kids."

Danny made a face and shook his head. "Nah, nothin' like that," he answered. "Seems like somethin's bitin' them. Then they like, bleed out."

Serra stared at me, but answered Danny, "No kidding," she replied, deadpan.

"Well," I chuckled awkwardly, pushing her towards the door of the barn. "We'll just get out of your hair, then." Danny grinned at me, nodding once, and turning towards the entrance with us. He hesitated as we got to the door, almost seeming like something just dawned on him.

"Although," he muttered, catching Serra's attention.

"Although?" she repeated, turning back towards the farm hand.

Danny tilted his head. "I haven't seen James in about two weeks," he commented. "He's one of the new guys. Hope he's okay."

Without looking at her, I unceremoniously shoved Serra out the door and turned to glance at Danny. "Huh," I commented, thoughtful. "Hope so too. Be back in a bit to return your wrench. Thanks so much."

Danny waved me off, smiling vaguely, still thinking. I left before he had a chance to talk to me anymore, putting my hand around Serra's waist and gently pushing her into a quick walk.

"Don't, don't, don't," I whispered to her as we began to move in tandem. I knew she was itching to turn and go right back to the barn. "Not until we get clear."

"Dean," she argued, turning back towards the horse paddock, where we could see a group of farmers gathered around a fallen cow, its legs stiffly shoved into the air. "We need to—"

"We need to get back to the car," I interrupted her. "It's the middle of the friggin' day and we are exposed. We are not going to hunt someone without knowing more."

"The sun is almost down!" she argued, still glancing backwards as we walked past the farmhouse.

I glanced to the windows, keeping my head down as we made our way back to Grace's old Toyota. "There's someone in the kitchen," I whispered. "He's watching us. We're not doing shit until we get back to the car."

Finally, Serra fell into step next to me without me pulling her along. "Fine," she grunted, staring at the ground as we continued through the property. "But we're coming back to check out that cow."

"In the dead of night, with no one around," I answered, seeing the happy red hatchback, waiting for us. "If it's a vamp, now it's gonna recognize our scent."

"Only if it smells us coming," she argued. "We'll blitz."

…

A week and a half ago

Dean

"Took Little to the farm today," I commented as Grace came out to the barn to join me and Liberty as we fiddled with a carburetor. "She's on one."

Grace smiled, shaking her head at her hunting-obsessed sister. "I know, I heard," she muttered. "She's always been like that. She gets bored."

I laughed, standing from the work bench and wrapping my wife in a hug. Before I closed my eyes, I caught a reflection of something shimmer against the car window from across the barn. Realizing it was her wings, I sighed and smiled to myself, thinking how lucky I was to have my half-angel back in my arms.

Leading Gracie away from Lib, I took a deep breath and lowered my voice. "Sere is going after the vamp whether we support her or not."

"Is it actually a vamp or is Serra just hoping?" Grace whispered, lifting her eyebrows.

I shrugged. "There's a big possibility," I answered, glancing back at our daughter, who had dropped a screwdriver with a clang. "There's a dead cow or two, and the guy we talked to sounded mystified about it. There's also a kid that hasn't been to work in a few days."

"Vampire," Grace sighed.

"Sounds like."

Liberty turned to us and grinned, holding the carburetor in three separate pieces. "Look, Daddy!" she exclaimed. "I got it!"

"I'm gonna put you to work," I pursed my lips at our daughter, nodding my approval. "Have you take Tony's job." Giggling and rosy cheeked from my compliments, Lib turned back towards the parts and continued tinkering. "Either way," I continued, dropping my voice, "now that we've been to the farm, we're gonna have to finish the job or risk the job comin' home with us, like those wolves."

Grace took a deep breath through her nose, "I'm not exactly worried about a couple of vampires."

I sighed, staring back at my little girl with blonde curls, sitting on the floor of the barn. "I'm always worried about the next monster."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Three Days Ago

Sam

Serra had been planning the hunt for the last five days or so, laying out schematics of the town where the farm and the supposed vampires would be. She had been back and forth before work, after work, on their way to the preschool to pick up the kids, and now, as we were kid-free and heading out for a dinner date together.

It was getting a little annoying.

"Can we talk about something other than vampires?" I asked, turning towards my wife at a stoplight. "I mean; Grace and Dean took the kids so we could actually go out and enjoy our time together, you know, like a couple."

Serra clicked her tongue. "I feel like we're missing an opportunity to chase monsters, since we're kid-free," she muttered, shaking her head and crossing her arms in front of her chest as I stopped at the stoplight.

The El Camino that I had taken from the Men of Letters' garage so many years ago had always performed admirably for me, but over the last six months, Dean had been rebuilding the engine, and I had to admit, it sounded amazing as it idled in place.

I patted the steering wheel absentmindedly, and turned to Serra, sighing heavily, "I feel like we're missing an opportunity to be a couple again," I retorted. "You know how long it's been since we just went to dinner by ourselves? Without having to worry about Delilah or some other shit that has been chasing us?"

My wife sat, still silent and staring out the passenger side window.

"Serendipity," I muttered, getting her attention with her full name. She turned towards me and rolled her eyes. "Look," I continued, ignoring her attitude. "I get why you want to hunt them. You're a protector. It's what you do," the light changed to green and I accelerated again. "But we have all the kids home safe. Our siblings are alive and healthy. Why can't we take the time and enjoy it while it lasts?"

"Because."

"Because why?" I glanced at her and shook my head. "Let someone else handle it. Let the hunters that were at the Big House with the whole Delilah and Everett/Levi thing take over. They would be more than willing, especially for something like a coven of vamps."

Serra was shaking her head before I had even finished my sentence. "I want them," she stated, matter-of-factly.

I stopped at the diner we all loved so much and pulled my keys from the ignition. "Why?" I demanded.

My wife stared long and hard at me before she took a breath to answer. I was surprised when her voice trembled, threatening to show the emotion that she had gotten so good at keeping hidden. "I am their guardian, _Samantha_. I am supposed to keep everyone safe. It's my _job_," she took a ragged breath as I rolled my eyes at her mocking nickname for me. "It's my _destiny," _she continued. "And considering how badly I've fucked it up over the last couple of years…" She paused and wiped her face, staring again out the window. "This is a way I can start making it up to everyone."

"Sere," I sighed, turning my body towards my wife and taking her hand in both of mine. "I don't care how much you think that our safety is only your responsibility; it's not. This family's safety is_ everyone's_ responsibility." I smiled lightly, "No one can burden that weight on their own, especially considering what we've been through." I shook my head, chuckling to myself. "You and Dean are so similar, it's insane," I muttered, almost to myself. "Look," I continued, tilting my head at my wife, who was still attempting to sit cross armed in the front seat, refusing to meet my eye. "If it makes you feel better, yeah, we can hunt the vamps, if they're even really there. I'm just saying that we can't go _looking_ for monsters. We need to focus on the kids. You and I need to focus on _each other._ We're not the immortal ones, here. We're not gonna be around forever and I want to get as much time as humanly possible from you."

Serra's face relaxed and she took a deep breath in through her nose. She smiled and leaned towards me, lifting her hand and reaching for the collar of my shirt. I pursed my lips as I lifted my eyebrow. "You're sayin' all the right stuff, Winchester," she whispered as her face drew closer to mine.

"You better believe it," I answered, my lips dusting hers, teasing.

Slowly, she unfolded her arms and allowed me closer, kissing her neck and pushing her down, towards the seat. I folded my arms behind me and tried taking off my flannel without breaking contact with her but laughed when my arms got stuck. Finally struggling out of my shirt, I lowered myself back towards my wife and brushed her hair out of her face and fumbled with her belt buckle.

A loud knock on the window shattered the mood and gasping, I glanced behind me, trying to see who would be knocking on the driver's side window of my car.

It was a cop.

From under me, Serra laughed out loud. "Oh shit," she giggled. "Busted."

"You know, you're in a public place," he spoke loudly through the window, staring at us from over his sunglasses.

Laughing, I rolled down the window. "Yeah, I'm sorry. We just got caught up in the moment…our kids are home and we've got some time to ourselves," I explained.

The cop didn't smile and kept his lips closed around his teeth, but he lowered his sunglasses further down his nose. "That may be," he commented sternly, barely moving his mouth. "Doesn't mean you need to drop your drawers right here in the diner's parking lot. There are plenty of other _private_ places to do that." His dark eyes flicked to Serra, who grinned unapologetically. "I see the rush, though. Got yourself a beauty."

Serra furrowed her eyebrows. "Ew," she replied.

"All right, all right," I chuckled. "We're coming in to eat. Then we'll find somewhere a little more…private. Thanks, officer." The cop backed away from the car but didn't seem to be moving on. "Have a nice day," I added for good measure.

The cop sniffed loudly and pushed his sunglasses back into place as he forced himself away from the El Camino. I watched as he seemed to redden, clamping his lips together and breathing deeply in through his nose. Serra noticed as well, and I felt her stiffen next to me as adrenaline hit her bloodstream. She opened her door, turned to step out and came around to the hood of my car. I opened my door as well, watching carefully. My entire body was on red alert and I couldn't really figure out why; until the wind picked up.

The cop took another deep breath through his nose and his posture changed as the cold night air pushed past Serra and right towards him. He seemed to be fighting an impulse and as I glanced to my wife, she was already in motion, using the tip of her switchblade to pierce the skin of the palm of her hand. Waiting only seconds, she watched the cop as the wind took hold of the scent of her blood. He went rigid.

"He's one of them," she muttered, reaching for one of her twin silver on black, Colt forty-fives. "He's a vampire." She turned to grin at the cop, completely at ease. "Blew your cover there, didn't you? I just smell too good."

"Not in the open!" I shouted, football tackling the cop to the ground as his fangs descended. I rolled with him, forcing us both behind the El Camino, away from the diner. The woods were only feet away and I did everything I could to get us both across the pavement, towards the tree line.

The cop was stronger than he looked, but I knew that was because of the monster blood coursing through his veins. He fought tooth and nail for me to release my hold, and as I tugged him towards the tree line, he almost got away. Glancing towards the El Camino, I narrowed my eyes towards my wife, watching to see what she was doing.

"Sere?" I shouted, grunting with effort to keep the vampire at bay. "Little help?"

Turning towards me, Serra was holding one of her guns with one hand and attempting to spin a suppressor onto the barrel with the other. "Coming, dear," she replied sarcastically.

"There are people," I groaned. "Don't let the people see you!"

Serra rolled her eyes and followed us as we headed farther towards the trees. "God, worrywart," she sighed, jogging towards us. "You're so dramatic."

The cop-vampire struggled more against my hold and finally managed to loosen my grip by almost biting my hand. I pulled away at the last minute, but then it was too late. My hold had been broken. The vamp turned on me, fanged barred and I did what I could to stay out of his path. Serra raised her gun but hesitated when I was in the line of fire.

"Sammy, move!" she shouted as I ducked out of her way. She took a slow breath as she watched the cop take off into the forest and let her air escape slowly through her nostrils, focusing on the shot in front of her. She squeezed the trigger and fired, one round right after the other, but the vamp was fast and there were too many trees.

She missed.

"Fuck!" she screamed, shaking her head and gesturing into the wilderness. "Look what you made me do! I _never _miss!"

I lifted my eyebrows, "_Made you_ do?" I asked with my mouth falling open. "You have got to be kidding me. I didn't _make _you do shit."

"You wouldn't let me shoot him in the parking lot!" Serra argued, stomping after the vampire for five or six steps, and then turning back towards me. "And now here we are, with no dead vamp!"

"That is _not_ my fault!" I reasoned. "You're _supposed_ to be the best shot of the family. What happened there?"

Serra's eyebrows shot up into her hair line and she stared at me with her jaw locked into place. If I wasn't so close to laughing at her, I would have been worried about my own safety.

"Now he has_ our scent, Samuel,_" Serra growled, leaning towards me with her free hand and gesturing towards my face. "What are you going to do when he shows up at the ranch, looking for a tasty treat?"

"Serra, come on," I laughed, "after dealing with what we've dealt with, I hardly think a vampire is going to be a problem." She narrowed her eyes at me as I continued. "Can you imagine him coming to the property with Grace there?"

This statement seemed to comfort Serra in the slightest way. "He should be more afraid of me," she muttered, turning back towards the parking lot and taking off the suppressor.

I smiled to myself, shaking my head at Serra's jealousy of her sister's full-blown potential as a Nephilim. "Careful there," I murmured, falling into step next to my wife. "You're starting to get a bit green."

"What, are you saying I'm jealous?" she turned, gesturing with her gun. "I am _not _jealous of Grace."

I laughed in reply.

"I'm not!" Serra reiterated. "Grace has a lot of fucking cool powers, yeah, but is that something that I wanna be burdened with? Hell, no. I don't need to know what the world is thinking, twenty-four-seven."

I tilted my head, knowing that my wife had a point. "You're not jealous of her other abilities?" I asked, reaching the door of the El Camino and shutting it before turning to wait for her to catch up to me after stowing the suppressor and her spare guns in the car.

"Some of them, maybe," Serra conceded. "Like being able to blow shit up or strangle someone from afar, yeah. But the baggage that comes with it? The mind reading and the Angel Radio thing? Not on your life."

As we reached the door to the diner, I held it open for my bride. "I'm pretty thankful for the part where you can't strangle someone from afar," I commented. "I'm thinking you'd abuse that one a bit."

Serra clicked her tongue as she followed the hostess to our table, "Starting with you," she sighed. "And then probably your brother."

"You're a real treat, Serendipity Adeline," I chuckled, shaking my head.

Serra got herself settled and threw me a wink from across the table. "You know it."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Two days ago

Dean

I watched my kids squabble over the last few Goldfish crackers as they spilled onto the floor in the kitchen at Grace's feet. They wrestled with each other, trying to get the crackers in their tiny fists, with blond hair falling into faces and giggles echoing against the cupboards and dishwasher. I sighed and rested against the back of my chair, crossing my arms in front of my chest and didn't try to stop the smile that spread across my face. Grace turned and stepped over the pile of kids on the floor and elegantly held her leg over Liberty and Glory as they rolled over the mat, Everett crawling to keep up with the other two.

This had to be some kind of paradise.

Grace's bright blue eyes flicked to mine and she smiled gently, nodding once at my thought. Faith giggled in her highchair, smacking the top of the tray with both of her hands at once, and reached towards me, begging for what was left of the toast on Liberty's plate.

"You want this?" I asked, holding the toast up to my youngest daughter. She grinned and nodded, flexing her hands open and closed. "Then you need to use some words, Pot Roast."

Though Faith was a little over two years old, she had been slow on the uptake when it came to using any kind of audible vocabulary. Grace didn't seem too concerned, though, knowing that Faith communicated via telepathy with the rest of her siblings and her mother. I got a snippet out loud every once and awhile, but overall, I rarely heard my baby girl speak.

Faith stared at me, hoping to wait me out, but sighed through her nose as I lifted my eyebrows, being more stubborn than her. "Toast," Faith demanded. I tilted my head, waiting for more. She pressed her little pouty lips together, forcing both of her dimples to show, "Toast, pweese."

I smiled my approval at her and handed it over. She kicked her little feet and her eyes lit up as she gnawed on the buttery piece of bread.

"Serra been over yet?" I asked, knowing my sister-in-law was chomping at the bit to go after the vampires that she was convinced were taking over Sibleyville, the town where Lib had her field trip at the farm, directly south from Lawrence.

Grace shook her head. "No, but she's been ranting something about a cop," she answered, zipping three lunch boxes closed and stepping over Everett once again. "Something about their date last night. Says the cop was a vampire."

"A cop," I repeated, doubt seeping into my words.

She pressed her lips together and lifted her eyebrows, looking exactly like Faith. I chuckled and shook my head, knowing we were getting closer and closer to chasing after the vamps, just like Serra wanted. "Yeah," Grace sighed, "there's a coven. She's all pissy at Sam because he didn't let her shoot him in the parking lot."

I sighed and shook my head slowly as I closed my eyes. "She tried to shoot him in the diner parking lot?" I asked, laughing to myself. "When is she gonna learn?"

"I've been trying to control her for the last thirty-plus years, so if anyone else wants to give it a go, they're welcome to it," Grace muttered, shaking her head. "I'm gonna go ahead and blame my dad for getting her those guns."

"Blaming Dad isn't going to change the fact that I'm right about the vampires," Serra's voice came through the closed kitchen door before she even had it open all the way. "There are vampires out there in the farms, munchin' on cows and god-knows who else," Serra reached across the table to take the cup of coffee that Grace was already handing her. "It's not gonna happen in my town."

"Shouldn't you be at work?" I asked, tilting my head.

Grace laughed and closed the cupboard door harder than necessary to try and hide the sound.

"My shift doesn't start until three," Serra muttered. "I'm on swing shift the next couple of days."

"Maybe because you never go to work," Grace mumbled from behind her coffee mug. "They're punishing you."

Clicking her tongue, Serra narrowed her hazel eyes as she glared at her sister. "I'm House Supervisor," she argued. "There's no one to punish me. I took swing so Claudia can be with her mom. She's not doing so hot."

"That was nice of you," Grace commented, stepping over the pile of kids on the floor to sit next to her sister at the breakfast table.

Serra glared again, one of her eyebrows lifting, "I'm nice sometimes."

This time, it was my turn to laugh. "Okay," I sighed, pushing myself up from the table. "I'm taking rug rats one through three to school and heading to the shop. Not-it for pick up."

"I've got them," Grace replied.

I turned to my kids drew circles in the air with my finger, "Okay, let's get," I announced. "Kisses, hugs. Lunches. Backpacks."

My kids scattered and gathered what they needed and ran past both Grace and Serra for hugs and goodbyes from both. I bent to kiss Faith on the top of her blonde curls and then bent to kiss Grace, closing my eyes and enjoying the moment.

I could feel Grace smile as Serra tilted her head at me sweetly, "That's okay, Dean," she commented, "I'll get a kiss when you get home."

"Only if you're lucky," I replied.

She puckered her lips and made exaggerated kissing noises as I pocketed my wallet, my phone, and my keys. Shaking my head, I winked at Grace and closed the door behind me as I followed my kids down the steps.

…

Grace

I refilled my mug of coffee again as I listened to Serra prattle on about the potential vampires that she was bent on hunting. There was a lull in the conversation and as I stared at my little sister, leaning on the palm of my hand, I furrowed my eyebrows and sighed. "You need a hobby."

Her hazel green eyes flicked to mine as she tilted her head. "This _is_ my hobby," Serra argued. "You guys have me all pent up. We go hard for months, hunting Delilah and looking for Everett and Levi, working with other hunters for weeks while you were _dead._" I rolled my eyes. "I'm all go, no quit, Grace. I get all angsty when I don't have something to do."

"Look," I sighed, lowering my hand and resting it on top of my coffee mug. "I don't doubt you. If you say there are vampires, there are probably vampires, but we have six kids between us, two of which we just got back. I feel like I'm a broken record here: I don't want to hunt because I value my time I have with my kids."

Serra shifted position and pressed her lips together, "Grace, I get it. I know." She took a deep breath through her nose and searched for words as she tapped her fingers against the glass of her phone's screen. "There's nothing I would like more than to spend every one of my remaining days with my kids, but I can't help but feel that we're here on this Earth for a purpose. You came back for a reason. I am a Warrior of Heaven for a _reason._"

"Warrior of Fucking Heaven," I corrected, mostly out of reflex.

"Bottom line," Serra sighed, "is that there are monsters out there, _near_ our kids. We are _monster hunters._ We need to take care of this problem so that it doesn't affect _someone else's_ kids."

Taking a deep breath, I let it out through my nose and watched my sister spin her wedding ring around her finger, waiting for me to work through whatever it is she thought I needed to work through. To be honest, it didn't bother me anymore that she wanted to hunt. I felt more alive and more in control of the world around me than I ever had before, and I knew for a fact that we could go in, guns blazing, and we would end up just fine. I also knew that Serra knew the same thing. We were, for lack of a better phrase, the perfect weapons when it came to hunting monsters.

Serra was watching me intensely as I thought my way through the process. It was almost as if she could hear me coming to the same conclusion that I knew she had already come to. Grinning, she tapped the table with both her hands. "We're going hunting," she whispered.

I took a deep breath, resigning as I took a long drink from my too-cool coffee. "We're going hunting," I repeated, refusing to make eye contact.

Launching herself from the table, Serra took Faith's face with both her hands and kissed her on the forehead. "We are going hunting!" she declared, spinning away from the table and towards the back door. "I'm gonna go pour some more bullets and get stuff ready!" She opened the door, letting a blast of cold air into the kitchen. "Oh! And I've wanted to try pouring a machete. I'm gonna do that too!"

I shook my head slowly and gestured to the door. "Have fun," I laughed as she bounded down the back steps, back towards her house. Turning towards my youngest daughter, I shook my head. "Say a lot of things about Auntie Luck," I sighed, getting up from the table and clearing the dishes, "but that girl is tenacious, to say the least."

"Tenacious," Faith repeated, smiling lightly at me.

I turned, shaking my head. "See, and Daddy doesn't think you speak." I leaned towards Faith's face and nuzzled her nose. "You've got all kinds of talent in that little body of yours, don't you?"

Faith clicked her tongue and smiled, playing with the remainder of scrambled eggs that were scattered across her plate. "Talent," she muttered, nodding. "Talented Faith."

I smiled gently, turning towards her just in time to see Faith use her abilities to pick up her two-handled cup and push it towards her face, allowing her to drink through the straw without ever actually touching the cup. "Talented Faith, indeed," I whispered, shaking my head.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Present Day (Morning)

Sam

Everyone had woken up early and we had assembled what we needed for the hunt while we waited for Billy, Jody, and Emery to arrive and watch the kids. Serra had done the research we needed to validate the need to hunt the vamps; turns out the missing kid from the farm in Selbyville turned up dead the following day. There were also three other missing persons reports from around the area over the last few weeks, all with suspicious reasons behind their disappearances. We all now felt as confident as Grace and Serra about the fact that there _were_ vampires, we just had no idea how _many_ there would end up being.

"We're not exactly going in inexperienced," Serra muttered, shaking her head as she held out the machete she had poured from the Weapons' Stone. "We all have hunted vamps before. We know how they move and how they hunt. We know the coven is a few strong." She made a face, shaking her head as she stared up at me. "We're good."

I sighed and shook my head, smiling, as my wife made her rounds through the house, packing up the remainder of our weapons. Dean opened the back door without knocking and sauntered in, resting his own machete across his shoulder in a cocky way.

"Ready?" he asked, grinning at me.

Turning to face my brother, I caught a glimpse of the twenty-six-year-old hunter that a part of Dean would always be. He was loose, happy, and overly confident in his skills, especially now that we had been through what we had been through. Both my brother and wife were right, in the end. We would have no problem with a few vampires.

"Yeah, we're ready," Serra agreed, glancing at me. "Right? We can go?"

"Where's Grace?" I asked, turning to check out the kitchen window.

Dean shrugged with his empty shoulder. "She's coming," he began, taking an apple out of the basket on the counter. "Sayin' goodbye to the kids."

"It's not like we're gonna be gone long," Serra muttered, shaking her head. "We'll be back this afternoon."

I took a deep breath and tried to stay patient with my bride. "Serra, you don't have to be so…"

"Tenacious?" Dean supplied. "It's Faith's word of the day."

Serra laughed and turned as the back door opened again. "Sure, I'll take tenacious. And I can be if I wanna be."

Spinning her keys around her index finger, Grace lifted her eyebrows expectantly as she came down the steps. "Waitin' on you now," she shot towards her sister. "We're burnin' daylight."

"She's starting to sound too much like you," Serra muttered as she ambled by Dean. "I miss the days when she didn't always sound irritated with me."

"She sounded irritated with you from the beginning," Dean argued as he turned to follow Serra out of the kitchen. "Right from day one."

Taking a deep breath, I sighed, catching my sister-in-law's blue gaze. She suppressed a smile, shaking her head along with me, knowing that on a hunt, Dean and Serra were identical. I turned once more and shouldered the duffle that Serra and I had packed the night before and pocketed the walkie-talkies that we planned on using during the actual hunt, tossing an ear mic to Grace. She caught it deftly and tilted her head, narrowing her eyes questioningly.

I fell into step behind her as we followed Dean and Serra out into the wheat between our houses, heading for the cars in the gravel drive by the barn. "Serra thinks that we should all share in the ability to hear each other during the hunt," I explained.

Grace smiled, "We all _do _share the ability to hear each other."

"No," I answered, locking the door behind us. "You have the ability to hear everyone and communicate with everyone, but we can't do the same with each other. I can't hear Dean. Or Serra, for that matter."

Grace considered this. "That's something to work on," she thought aloud. "I wonder if I could somehow connect our brains."

"I'd really rather use the mics," I muttered, chuckling.

"Touché," Grace smiled. "I don't have a problem with the mics, although the mics sometimes have problems with me." She pushed the device into her ear and tapped it lightly. "I just have to remember to say things out loud."

…

Dean

It felt good to be in the car next to Grace again, with a purpose other than trying to find our kid. My Impala rumbled down the highway, towards the town where Serra had narrowed down the vampire nest. Behind us, Sammy and Serra followed in the El Camino. I had Grace all to myself, for the time being.

Grace had her eyes closed, listening to something I couldn't hear, I was sure of it, but it was a peaceful look. Her blonde waves floated around her face, coming loose from her ponytail in the breeze that sailed through the Impala's semi-open windows. Leaning forward to turn the music up, I caught a grin from my wife.

"What's funny?" I asked, tilting me head.

She smiled, "Nothing." Tucking her hair behind her ear, she brought her knee up onto the seat and turned to face me. "I was just listening to Serra. She's stupid happy."

Chuckling, I licked my lips and glanced into the rear-view mirror, trying to see the grin I knew Serra wore. "I know," I agreed, "I haven't seen her this happy since we went after the werewolves."

"That's because every hunt since then has been life or death."

"It's a nice change," I sighed. "Vamps are small potatoes."

Grace didn't immediately agree, and I turned to see what her face would tell me. She pursed her lips and stared out the windshield.

"Vamps are small potatoes," I repeated, trying to get her to say something. "Right?"

Shrugging half-heartedly, Grace nodded. "I'm not worried about the vampires," she finally answered. "I'm worried that this hunt will ignite a fire in Serra that will be hard to control. That girl." Grace sighed and turned to stare at the side of my face again. "I don't want this to give her a taste and then she thinks we have to be out here every weekend. We have responsibilities."

The edge of my cheek puckered, and I shrugged as I stared out into the open highway. "You know Serra," I began. "She's a busy body; just needs something to do. I don't think this will turn into an every-week-thing, or even an every-month-thing." I chanced a glance at my wife. "I do think that we'll need to keep the monsters that are close to home in check, just to keep the kids safe and keep our skills fresh."

Grace was silent long enough that I peeled my eyes from the road and chanced a glance at her. She took a deep breath and rolled her eyes. "I hardly think _Dean Winchester_ needs to keep his skills fresh," she smiled, leaning towards me and touching my leg. "After all, _he is_ the hunter that helped stop the apocalypse."

Licking my lips, I looked back at the highway, tilting my head sheepishly. "I did do that," I replied, reaching out for Grace's hand.

She giggled as she interlaced her fingers with mine. "Vamps are small potatoes," Grace finally agreed. "But I'm not agreeing to hunt with her on the reg. She's on her own."

I clicked my tongue. "You say that," I chuckled. "But something tells me that you won't be able to stay away either."

"The hell you say," Grace muttered, teasing.

I shrugged, "Hey, don't shoot the messenger, Nephilim."


	10. Chapter 10

::This wraps the last chapter of _Blitz_! I hope you enjoyed it. I'd love to hear what you thought! I'll be taking a break for a bit on vacation with my family, but I'll be back soon, mainly because I can't stay away. I have so much fun!

Love and internetty hugs!

TheGirlWithTheDinosaurTattoo::

...

...

Chapter 10

Now

Serra

I ducked behind the cars and led the group to the edge of the building, tapping my ear-piece to make sure the mic was on and broadcasting. The boys split behind me; Sammy heading towards the rear of the building and Dean taking the outer edge of the front. Grace was still in the parking lot, using a pick-up truck as cover.

I lowered my voice, trying to contain my excitement, "You ready, Dean?"

"Uh-huh," he replied, his voice coming in loud and clear into the mic.

"Sammy?"

"Yeah."

"Grace?"

She sighed, sounding irritated at my sound check. "Okay," she answered halfheartedly.

"All right fellas," I breathed into our joined, open mic. "Let's go."

The room we stared into from outside the main window was full to the hilt with vampires of all sizes, shapes, and degrees of ferociousness. Slamming the door to the run-down trucker bar wide open, I took a deep breath and grinned as I made eye contact with the first blood sucker. "Hi," I greeted, pursing my lips. "How's it going?"

The action passed too fast and suddenly, I was out of monsters to kill. I high-fived Dean, smiling broadly as Sammy and Grace watched from the edge of the open room. I grinned at my sister and she lifted her eyebrows, giving me the pathetic 'good-job' thumbs up as she nodded encouragingly. She took a deep breath and asked, "Can we go home now?"

And then she froze, her eyes glazing over and staring off into space like she did in the old days, back when she was having visions and pretending she was just a psychic.

"Grace?" I called, turning suddenly away from Dean and narrowing my eyes at my sister. "Gracie?"

Dean turned, hearing the worry in my voice.

Before I realized what I was doing, I was running to her and bending to try and get into her line of sight. "What, Grace? What's wrong?"

"There's something at home," she whispered.

I glanced at Dean and Sam, worry creasing my brow. "Something? What kind of something?" I whispered, panic hitting my voice. I hated that my sister had been right all along. We should have never left our kids.

"Vampires," she answered, still staring off into the distance, seeing nothing and everything at the same time. "There are four that split from the nest. They scented you and Dean from the farm."

"Can you hear them?" I asked, moving closer to Grace. "Are they there? Do Em and Jody know they're coming?" I glanced back at Dean who looked more angry than worried. "Grace," I pressed. "What should we do?"

Suddenly, Grace looked up at the three of us and held out her hands. "Hold on," she said, flexing her fingers.

"What?" I asked, staring at her hands. "Hold on to you?"

She pressed her lips together into a tight line. "Yeah, hold on to me," she shot back. "We're going to make a little jump."

"Oh, Jesus," Dean sighed, rolling his eyes. "This ain't gonna end pretty."

"What are we doing?" Sammy asked, clueless.

I took a deep breath and shook my head at my husband. "You're holding on, Sammy," I answered, taking Grace's right hand. "We're going for a ride."

Dean reached for her left hand and laced his fingers through hers. I moved over and closed my eyes as I offered Grace's hand to Sam. "Just hold on to her arm or something," I muttered. "This should be awful."

Without warning, I felt like I was being squeezed from all sides of my body at the same time. I couldn't take a breath and was completely paralyzed. I tried to shut my eyes, but I was completely frozen; helpless. Without warning, after only seconds, I landed in a hard heap on top of Sammy in the middle of the field between our houses. Grace and Dean were still standing, but Dean still looked like he might pass out.

"You okay?" Grace asked, turning towards her husband. "We need to move. They're coming through the corn field to the west."

"Yeah," Dean grunted, leaning over and bracing himself against his knees. "Yeah, gimme a minute."

Grace was already jogging towards the barn, where I could hear the happy laughter and squeals of the kids. Jody was outside the barn, sweeping the wooden walkway we had built, trying to cut down on the dust. I untangled myself from Sammy and attempted to stand but weaved a bit as I tried to keep up with my sister. "Sammy?" I asked, "You with us?"

"Oh my god," Sam grunted, on all fours in the middle of the field. "I wasn't ready."

Grace moved so silently through the wheat that Jody didn't even look up. I came up from behind our friend loudly so as not to startle her. She turned, hearing movement and her eyes about popped out of her head. "Serra?" she almost shouted, but I held up my hand, holding back her surprise. I gestured towards my sister and held up my finger, telling Jody to keep quiet.

"There're vampires coming," I whispered, jogging behind Grace. "Are all the kids inside the barn?"

Jody, still wide-eyed at our sudden arrival, simply nodded.

"Good," I continued, keeping my hand to my face. "Don't say anything, just keep them inside. We'll be right back."

Dean and Sammy had gotten their shit together and fell into step behind me, following Grace silently. She was very obviously taking the lead on this part of the hunt.

Behind me, my brother-in-law was bringing out his trusty machete as he followed Grace towards the corn field across the road behind our houses. I followed suit, holding my blade out at the ready. The hairs on the back of my neck stood out, trying to get a sense of what Grace was feeling. It was hard when we were going in blind.

Suddenly, Grace stopped jogging and turned abruptly, facing back towards the barn. We were like mimics, about-facing back towards the barn as my mouth fell open, seeing Glory out in the middle of the field, smiling at the group of us.

"Hi, Momma!" she shouted, waving happily. "I didn't think you would be back so soon!"

"Glory!" Grace answered, breaking into a run back towards her daughter. "Go back into the barn!"

It was happening before we had a chance to react. The vampire came out from behind the Big House, taking Glory off the ground and holding her against his chest, ready to bite her. We froze where we stood, watching and waiting to see how Grace wanted to play it. Dean looked like he was about ready to explode but held his ground. The entire world held its breath.

…

Sam

There was a vampire on each one of our flanks, waiting with bated breath to see what we would do, now that one had Glory in his arms. My niece looked annoyed, trying to turn her head and stare at him as he restrained her arms behind her back and exposed her neck towards his rapidly descending fangs.

"You smell really bad," Glory commented.

Grace cracked a smile.

Turning back towards the vampire, I shook my head as a small grin touched the corners of my lips. He had no idea what he was dealing with.

"You missed the party," Grace addressed the vamp that clutched her daughter. "My sister got something like seventeen of your brothers and sisters back in Selbyville at a trucker bar. Too bad you weren't there to see it."

"We blitzed 'em," Serra added, waggling her eyebrows.

The vampire narrowed his eyes, staring at my sister-in-law with daggers in his eyes. "How the hell did you get back here so soon?" he asked, tilting his head.

Grace pressed her lips together. "Nephilim," she answered, shrugging.

"Momma," Glory furrowed her eyebrows. "He smells. Really bad."

"Don't you worry, kiddo," Dean nodded towards his daughter. "We'll take care of that. Then you can take a bubble bath; get that stink off you."

"I love bubble baths!" Glory declared, trying to wriggle out of the vampire's grip.

He wrapped his arms around her tighter, trying to keep control of the situation. Obviously, Grace wasn't worried, so automatically, I relaxed, even when the other two vampires launched themselves towards us.

In a flash of light, the vampires exploded into piles of ash in midair, flecks of gray soot landing in my hair. The vampire in front of us looked panicked. "What the fuck?" he yelled, watching the two vampires fall to the ground in front of him. "What the _fuck?"_

Grace rolled her eyes and repeated, "Nephilim."

Movement caught my eye as another vampire tried to rush us, a female this time, from behind. Grace didn't even turn around because Dean and Serra turned into the attack, taking her apart with each of their machetes. The three pieces turned to ash in mid-air as Grace walked determinedly towards the lone remaining vampire. She smiled lightly at Glory and lifted her eyebrows.

"Practice time," she called, approaching her daughter.

Glory seemed excited at this prospect, kicking her feet happily. "For reals?" she asked.

"Yep," Grace nodded, "Open it up."

I glanced at my brother, who had eyes only for his daughter as her fingers stretched out of the vampire's grip. He didn't seem to know what to do and took a shaky step backwards, almost falling as he did so.

"You really underestimated this family," Grace sighed, shaking her head. "Not only did you stumble upon the greatest group of hunters known to this planet," she explained. "But you also managed to find the four Gatekeepers."

A large oval was beginning to form in mid-air in front of the vampire, showering the ground below them with yellow-green sparks as Glory concentrated with her eyes closed.

"You see," Grace continued, "the one you've got there is Purgatory's Gatekeeper, and we've been practicing, just for opportunities like this."

My mouth fell open as Glory continued to work and Grace and Serra approached the terrified vampire, with Dean at their heels. The portal got bigger and bigger, sending yellow-green sparks all around us, but not catching fire to anything. Glory opened her eyes to grin at us. "All done!" she shouted.

Grace held out her arms and Glory shut her eyes once more, smiling broadly. In the blink of an eye, Glory appeared in Grace's arms, sitting on her hip and watching the very confused vampire with bright eyes.

"As you probably guessed," Grace smiled, brushing her daughter's hair out of her face, "that's where you're headed, so I hope you're ready to run."

Dean lowered his head as he took a final step towards the vampire, who hadn't moved, either out of fear or shock, and with one singular kick, Dean shoved him through the open portal. He screamed, losing his footing, and grasped wildly at the air as he fell backwards, into the dark abyss.

Turning towards Glory, Grace took a deep breath. "Nicely done, baby," she complimented. "Now, close it up."

With the blink of her wide, green eyes, Glory raised her hand and closed her fingers into a fist. Immediately, the portal closed, and the yellow-green sparks disappeared into nothingness.

I could feel my mouth fall open as Serra turned to grin at me. "That's my girl," she whispered, ruffling our niece's curly, dark blonde hair. "High-five?"

Glory reached out her tiny hand and gave Serra the high-five she asked for. Turning my head slightly towards my brother, I lifted my eyebrows and tilted my head in a surprised and questioning sort of way. The corners of his lips tucked downward, shrugging with one shoulder in a self-depreciating sort of way. The pride for his daughter was etched into his facial expression and I couldn't help the grin that spread over my face.

"How long has she been able to do that?" I asked, stepping towards Dean.

He chuckled. "About two days ago, she did it for the first time, but even then, it was sketchy. Everett and Lib have been walking her through the feeling, but she's not too confident about it yet."

Grace smiled broadly at her daughter in her arms. "That changes today," Grace muttered, nuzzling Glory's face. One by one, the rest of the Winchester kids came filing out of the barn, followed closely by Jody; her eyes wide when she saw Glory in Grace's arms.

"Where did you go, little girl?" Jody gasped. "You were right there, next to your sister, and the next thing I knew, you had disappeared!"

Glory smiled mischievously. "There's a hole under the board in the back of the barn," she answered. "I wanted to help with the monster."

"Did you ask permission first?" Jody asked, lecturing.

Glory's face fell slightly, looking embarrassed. "Not until after I was out here. Momma didn't hear me right away."

"You're lucky Mom can pick up on you so quick," Dean commented. "You did alright, but man," my brother glanced at me and put his hand over his chest, shaking his head. "I don't think I'm quite ready for my baby girl to be out here, fighting monsters with us."

Grace took a deep breath and nuzzled her daughter's face. "Seconded," she muttered.

The only one standing in the middle of the field with a wide grin on her face was my wife, holding one of her guns loosely at her side. "That was incredible," she sighed. "Let's go again."

"Go where?" Grace turned, lifting her eyebrows.

Serra was practically vibrating. "We have to go get the cars!" she exclaimed. "Zap us back!"

I was already lifting my hands and shaking my head. "Yeah, I don't think so," I muttered, closing my eyes after imagining the nausea I felt after my sister in law pushed me through time and space the first time. "I'll pass."

"What about the El Camino?" Serra demanded.

I shook my head again. "You can drive it home," I answered, holding my stomach. "That's not worth going twice."

Grace laughed, glancing at Dean. "How about you?" she asked. "You gonna puss out too?"

Pressing his lips together hard enough to show his dimples, my brother lifted his eyebrows, "Hey, you're the one who's gonna have to deal with the aftermath."

Kissing Glory on the cheek again and setting her down on the ground, Grace tilted her head, "Aftermath?"

"I don't crap right for a week after these jumps," Dean muttered, watching the rest of our kids come out of the barn. Liberty grinned and ran to Dean's open arms. "I'll go, but not willingly."

Serendipity's face was pressed into a disapproving grimace. "You two are a couple of babies. C'mon, Grace, let's go get the cars."

"It's a little different for you," I muttered, "you've both got angel blood. It doesn't bother you!"

Without missing a beat, Serra whipped her hair from one side of her head to the other, "You're vessels for the biggest two of the seven," she answered, snarky. "I'm pretty sure you should be able to handle bouncing from one place to another."

"I wanna go!" Liberty exclaimed from her father's arms. "Can I go with you to get the cars?"

Grace shrugged as she glanced up at Dean, "Sure, baby. Girls' trip."

"I'm a girl!" Glory shouted, bouncing in place on the balls of her feet. "Me too!"

"Alright, alright," Grace replied, chuckling to herself. "Let's go." Moving closer to Dean, she reached up on her tip toes to kiss him, "We'll be back."

Keeping his face just out of her reach, Dean smiled down at his wife. "Be safe," he whispered. Unable to resist her any longer, Dean leaned in to close the gap between their faces and kissed her deeply.

I turned, grinning at Serra. Her enthusiasm was hard to ignore. "I'll see you in a bit," I said, reaching out for her. Swatting my hand away, Serendipity laughed. "Yeah, whatever! Let's go!"

Shrugging, Grace laughed and shook her head. She clasped hands with her sister and her daughters and with that, they were gone.

Taking a deep breath and running a hand through my hair, I turned to stare at Dean. "You alright?" I asked.

Nodding slowly, with an odd look on his face, the corners of Dean's lips tugged into a smile. "Yeah," he ventured. "Yeah, I am."

"What's with the look?"

He took a long time to answer; long enough that I thought he may have forgotten, but I realized he was watching Everett as he meandered around the field. "For the first time since we've been together, I'm not freaked out by Grace going off by herself."

"She can definitely handle herself," I commented, agreeing. "Serra too."

"It's not even that," Dean continued. "The idea that we've been through the ringer and come out on top," he shrugged and finally turned to stare at me. "We'll be fine, no matter the situation."

I nodded slowly, watching my son play with my nephew, chasing each other through the wheat in the setting sun. We would always be hunters; its who we were, and I was happy that Serra kept us honest about ourselves.


End file.
